It’s been an abnormal early part of the summer for the state in terms of severe weather – or the lack thereof.

“For the most part, this spring has been fairly quiet in Iowa for severe weather, and I think we’re still waiting for the first official tornado to occur in the state,” said State Climatologist Harry Hillaker. “That’s very unusual to go this late in the spring without having any tornadic activity. There have been quite a number of high wind and hail events, but so far no tornadoes officially reported in the state, which again, is quite unusual.”

He adds while things have been relatively quiet so far, it doesn’t mean we’re in the clear just yet.

“May and June are typically our biggest severe weather months in Iowa,” says Hillaker. “Just those two months alone typically account for half of the severe weather occurences we get in the calendar year. We’ve been pretty fortunate so far in may it’s been so quiet, but things still are very much in the heart of the severe weather season.”

There is a chance for some thunderstorms throughout the state today, including in the Marion County area, though none of them are expected to be severe.